


The Legacy of Time

by AngelicSentinel



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-18 16:13:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4712306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelicSentinel/pseuds/AngelicSentinel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Time. It changes everyone. Whether it's for good or ill depends on perspective. But both have darkness within. One, a hero tired of fighting; another trapped as wolf. With one's path home blocked, and the other now without memory, they struggle to find their place in a world that doesn't quite fit. An old evil is on the rise, and it's going to take both of them to have any chance at saving the worlds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Prologue: The Legacy of Time

Chapter One: A Prologue: The Legacy of Time

The book lay on a marbled pedestal in the Temple of Light, in the innermost sanctum, deeper even than the Chamber of Sages, in the very heart of the tallest tower. The cover of book was green, a pattern embossed in what appeared to be gold filigree, the tiny loops and curls of the metal on the cover forming an intricate design. In the center of the book, golden triangles rested, drawing the eye. These three equilateral triangles connected at the innermost points to form a fourth, larger triangle—the Triforce, the symbol of the Gods. Three crests marked the points of the points of the triangle. The first looked like a stylized musical staff. The Seal of Din. The second was three circles cased by three crescents facing outwards, their curves touching. The Seal of Nayru. The third, a circle cradled by a crescent, cradled by a larger crescent. The Seal of Farore. A thin script, written in a language long forgotten by even the most erudite scholars, also graced the cover and gave the book its name:

_Mudora_.

Popular legend spoke of it as a book of history, but its pages chronicled past, present, and future in unerring detail. Once it had been a guiding light to those within, but now it stood open on faded words, its binding cracked, its pages covered in dust. Even the four columns surrounding the pedestal had cracked with the weight of time.

The Temple of Light had long since been empty. Eons past, the Order of the Goddesses had dwelt here, taking care of the grounds and guarding it from all who would dare attack. Now, only one remained, the Light Sage, Rauru.

Rauru wasn't a terribly tall man, but he was built widely, giving him the appearance of a man much larger than he was. His hair had long since vanished from the top of his head; indeed, all of his hair seemed concentrated in sideburns and a thick, bushy mustache, with enough for a small tail at the back of his head. The vermillion damask collar and sash offset the orange robes he wore—the vestments of the Sage of Light. He was the Guardian of the Power of the Gods.

Former guardian, he should say. He sighed as he walked through the Temple of Light on his daily rounds, casting a weary eye on the crumbling stone walls. The Seven Fountains that lined the sides and back of the main sanctuary had long since dried up, no more water spouting from the walls to the half-circle pools that collected it and pumped it back through the walls. Debris littered the worn red carpet. The door that led to the Chamber of Sages hung on loose hinges, the wood rotten, eaten by the darkness. And that was the least of the damages done to the great Temple. Remnants of Ganon's attack over a century ago.

He had been in the Temple since time immemorial, watching over it. He had seen many kingdoms rise and fall; men, with good intentions and evil ones, intent on remaking the world in their image. To Rauru's eyes, all were the same. In the end, they fell under the lure of power as it ruled over their weak hearts. But only one had ever managed to breach the Temple in all the human wars for the Triforce. Ganondorf, the Desert King.

Rauru alone remained to guard the Temple of Light, the last stronghold against the forces of evil, inside the very heart of the Sacred Realm. The golden Triforce was over a century gone, and the protections of Light were weakening by the hour. While no longer perverted by the dark wishes of Ganon since Princess Zelda restored time, the Sacred Realm still held the taint of his malevolent miasma. Remnants of ill intent ate away at the light, leaving pockets of ever-hungry shadow.

Rauru was doing all that he could to combat it, but he feared that it would not be enough. With only five sages, and the other four bound outside of the Sacred Realm, it would fail in a matter of time. The Temple of Light would become lost, swallowed forever by the pockets of darkness.

And when that happened, the mortal realm would not survive the spread of the taint. Until then, however, Rauru would do his very best protect it for as long as possible.

He was deep within his daily meditations, fortifying the defenses of the Temple, when he heard a noise behind him. "Rauru." Rauru started in surprise, folding his hands inside his long sleeves and straightening. He took a deep breath and prepared to defend against an attack. Announcing oneself before an attack was unusual, but he dared not take the chance. No one came to the Temple of Light anymore.

He turned, magic at the ready, and saw two shadowed figures enter. Upon seeing their faces, he bowed low, forehead and palms touching the floor. He refused to meet their eyes. Such was blasphemy.

"Rise, Rauru, eldest of the Sages. You need not prostrate yourself before us. We do not have much time, and therefore cannot stand on ceremony," she said. He glanced up. The figure in the lead raised her hand, palm up, gesturing him to rise. He did and finally looked upon their blessed forms.

She kept her face stoic, calm as a deep pool. He gave her a once over, struck by the opportunity to see them in the physical plane, still avoiding her eyes in obeisance. What struck Rauru the most was the regal way the shape stood, her hands now clasped in front of her. Head up, shoulders back; every inch a queen. Her long blue hair fanned out behind her, like the wind on the waves, rippling almost to the floor. A translucent blue veil covered the lower half of her face, but it made her pursed scarlet lips stand out in the light of the sconces. The dress she wore hugged her curves, a pale blue train falling behind her and trailing along the floor. Its asymmetrical high cut showed one shapely leg from thigh to delicate bare foot. A circlet of sapphires adorned her ankle, matching the heavy sapphire pendant that rested between her breasts.

"We have come to seek your aid, Light Sage," said the figure behind her, clasping herself in a tight hug, rubbing her bare arms up and down as if to warm herself. Unlike the calm of the first, she was constantly moving. Rauru saw tear tracks dusting her high cheekbones, casting a great shadow on expressive features. "Our sister is gone," she said, biting a full lip. Her short green hair stood up in an array of spikes. She ran her hand through it, before running it back through in the other direction in a vain attempt to pat it down. She wore a loose emerald tunic, belted with a deep shimmering viridian sash and pale green trousers. Brown leather boots reached to mid-thigh. She danced from foot to foot with frenetic energy, as if she couldn't keep still. A choker with a gold-lined emerald encircled her neck.

A most momentous occasion. Unprecedented, in his memory, which stretched from the dawn of the world. The Aspects of the Goddesses, descended from the heavens. Rauru dared not even think their names. He would instead refer to them by the gems they wore, praying they did not take offense.

"Lost to us," Sapphire echoed. "Perhaps forever." She lifted her head, her eyes distant, and closed them. Though she appeared unaffected, Rauru saw her jaw and temple flex. She hid it well, but she was more affected than she appeared at first glance.

"The Eidolon has been set free," said Emerald. "Our sister has fallen," she said, practically vibrating with emotion. She started pacing with short staccato steps walking the short breadth of the room and back before speaking again. "You yourself know of whom we speak. He that has broken the laws crafted before time," said Emerald, crossing her arms.

"I do, Great Ones," said Rauru, averting his eyes, so as not to linger upon the figures in their splendor. They radiated light. Even looking at them made him uneasy. "You speak of origin of all monsters, Demi _—_ "

"Do not speak his name!" The green-haired figure cut in. She looked around, as if someone else were present. "He will hear and will be drawn here. As Eidolon the primordial he holds power, but that name does not yet hold the power that the other does."

"Our sister tried to interfere directly and used her soul in the mortal realm, feeling guilt for all that has been done in her name," said Sapphire. "She knew the price of the Imprisoned. As our power binds him, so does it bind us. Like calls to like, and the seal bound to his descendants has begun to unravel with the careless touch of our power." She touched her fingertips to the palm of her other hand and pulled upwards, showing ethereal green, blue, and red balls of light circle and contain a dark mass. It turned golden. Yet the small red ball darted away, and the black threads wormed their way through the heart of the golden mass before devouring the thing whole.

"The ancient pact is broken, the prison unlocked, the balance skewed in Eidolon's favor. Easily fixed. But," Emerald said fervently, "she was returning to help us seal it away again..."

"...And in her carelessness, the Dark King trapped her with the key she herself provided," Sapphire said. "Her essence trapped, her body bound in mortal chains. It is this key he uses to consolidate his power. Another sister lost to us, perhaps forever." She bowed her head, clenching her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Like the Rebirth," Rauru said, stroking his chin, understanding dawning on his face. "Zelda..."

Emerald looked away. Sapphire reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder, pulling her to her chest in an embrace. She spoke over Emerald's head. "And unlike Hylia, this is not her choice."

Emerald smiled faintly at the taller figure, took a deep breath, stepped away, and continued. "And The Light before Dawn is missing, obscured from us, transformed by the shadows. Our scrying has revealed nothing. If the Dark King allies with the Eidolon, reunites with his earlier incarnation, all is lost," said Emerald. "He and his army nearly succeeded once."

"The Hero stopped him then."

"The Hero had help. The Hero's Spirit grows weary, while the Eidolon grows in strength. The cycle takes its toll. We are here to seek your aid, for we cannot interfere without the risk of adding our power to the Eidolon," Sapphire added, her façade now abandoned, pain showing freely behind her veil. "Bound by the ancient law, the Source awakens. Time itself is no longer safe, for he conquered her long ago."

"We cannot afford alter the balance any more than we already have," Emerald said as she strode back and forth. "Should our sister stay in the hands of darkness, they will use her and the shattered golden power to find their way to us; corrupting it with darkness so great even we will no longer be able to combat it in its entirety, and he shall have his revenge. All the heavens shall sunder and eternal war will reign. It will be the end of everything."

He paled, taking a step back at the intensity of her speech. It was up to him.

"We know your mortal form, Rauru. Fly faster than the wind, and soar beyond the skies," said Sapphire, her hands clasped in front of her chest, her face earnest. "You must find the Shadow of Time. You must reach his living form at all costs. You must find the Light before Dawn. Tell them of our sister's plight. Her life lays in mortal hands now."

"The shadows grow deeper. Even now, those who would otherwise be true rail against us. Even the stouthearted are losing faith. You must find them at all costs," Emerald said. "We cannot lose her. We have already lost enough."

Tension thrummed throughout Rauru. He could imagine it so easily. They laid a heavy charge at his feet. But he had no choice. He must do this. "Great Ones, the protection of the Temple?" he dared to question. He raised a hand and gestured at the crumbling walls, the dimming light.

"Yes. That is still within our power. We do not yet risk him finding his way here. Yet, the Eidolon is rising, searching hungrily for access to our power and this sanctuary. We shall maintain the Temple while you are gone. Hurry! Find him, Rauru," said Sapphire. "You will find the Shadow of Time beyond the realm, in the care of another. The Light before Dawn must be found at all costs! Our sister must be freed!" She struck her fist on the palm of her hand.

"May the Light always protect you, and guide your every move," said Emerald. She reached out with a finger and inscribed a closed "y" with a branching tail, the shape of the Kokiri emerald. It glowed brightly for a moment before touching his forehead and disappearing inside his mind. "This shall help you find them. Both contain traces of my essence. The Triforce was never meant to leave Hyrule."

The glowing figures began to disappear, shining brightly. "You must remember, make haste," they said together. "All will perish, if they fail." They faded completely from his sight.

_Ah, this was terrible news indeed! What other horrible things have befallen the kingdom of Hyrule whilst I have been here?_ Rauru concentrated deep inside himself, forming a connection to the mortal plane. In his mind, feathers sprouted around a dark form, coalescing into an owl. He made the connection from a spiritual body from a mortal one, feeling slightly disoriented. He lifted from the ruins of the Temple of Time as the emblem shone inside his mind, winging his way to the portal between dimensions.

_Mudora's_ pages turned, fluttering as if in a breeze, freeing itself from the dust. Pages blanked. Words shifted into spidery threads, winding their way across the pages, at times taking new shapes, at times disappearing altogether. Elegantly scripted words filled the newly blanked pages at a rapid pace, written in flowing, ancient Hylian.

_"...Wherefore a world filled with wonder and life_

_Fell into Chaos, in struggle and strife_

_Forgetting the lessons of a Golden Age_

_Control of the country wrested by knaves_

_Held hope for a hero, in darkness deep_

_As around them evil began to creep:_

_Oh Muse! Nayru, goddess of Wisdom true_

_Sing your song and sound the story anew!_

_A twisted up tale of twilight and time_

_With fierce foes that have no reason or rhyme_

_And fiercer heroes, fighting for freedom_

_The weight of the world held fast between them—_

_Two men with entwined destiny and fate_

_One trapped as a wolf, the other too late_

_To save his belovéd kingdom Hyrule._

_Time, it seems, is a mistress quite cruel._

_A portal closed, stone doors shut seven years_

_A fateful fulfilling of the child's fears_

_Homeless, alone, he grew up in an inn_

_Foresworn by fate, he grew up again._

_The child-shrub, the man-rock, the fleet-of-fin_

_Will meet another of Farore's kin._

_Both men are threatened by power, Din's child_

_And will find in themselves, courage most wild._

_Our story begins in that far off land_

_In provincial Ordon, with a ranch hand_

_Man into wolf, in a forest alone_

_Finds a place that eerily feels like home..."_


	2. Seven Years Ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kafei has a decision to make.

 

_Whenever there is a meeting, a parting is sure to follow. However, that parting need not last forever... Whether a parting be forever or merely for a short time... That is up to you._

— _Happy Mask Salesman_

* * *

 

_**Seven years ago in the land of Termina...** _

Anju bit her lip, the corners of her mouth tugging down, her brow lined with worry, her eyes tight. "Please take refuge. We are fine here."

The child raised a golden eyebrow and crossed his arms, staring at them with knowing blue eyes. He was clad in a green tunic, travel-stained and near threadbare. He wore a sword and shield.

"We shall greet the morning as it comes…together," Kafei added, embracing Anju. She gave a soft little "Oh," sound and threw her arms around him, holding him tightly to her chest as she knelt. The world shook around them in ever-increasing tremors, knocking a few things off the shelves.

With a noisy ringing like a bell, Tatl said, "Five-thirty. C'mon, Link. We don't have much time This is it. If you're going to do it for good, now's the time." The green hat-boy set his jaw and gave a sharp nod at the little golden fairy flitting around his head.

Link smiled at them, but exhaustion tugged at the corners of his eyes, causing it to droop a little. He had heavy bags under his eyes. Even so, he stood strong, back straight. He made to leave, but turned and gave a short little bow to the couple. Then he drew the golden blade that was almost as tall as he was and left.

The sound of the door closing echoed in the quiet room.

"Where do you think he's going?" Anju said quietly. "What business does a child like that have, carrying a sword like that? And that shield on his back, a face screaming as if it were in terrible pain. Frightening," Anju said, shuddering.

"I don't know," Kafei said, his face grim, thinking back to the battles in Sakon's Hideout. He'd shown exceptional skill, and certainly knew how to use the blade. Odd, for one so young. And he recognized that shield from somewhere. "But I'm going to follow him," he said without thinking, barely registering the words until after they were said. "Stay here."

"What?" Anju said. "I only just got you back."

"Anju, please," Kafei said.

"Leave you again after all this trouble?" she said. "I think not. I'm coming with you," she grasped his hand.

"Anju, love," Kafei said, " _Please._ "

"No. Either way, the moon shall fall," she said softly. "It doesn't matter, as long as I'm with you." She gripped his hand desperately, so tight his fingers tingled and hers turned white with the strength of it. Kafei took a deep breath and nodded.

They stole into the hallway, down the stairs and out the door, Kafei pulling Anju by the hand as she ran behind him. The streets were empty, half-constructed stalls abandoned in the sick light of the enormous moon. It seemed almost close enough to reach out and touch.

Kafei glanced to the left and right. How had he disappeared so quickly? No clue where he was headed, but wait! He saw the green-hat boy—No, Link—at the bottom of the stairs to the south plaza of Clock Town. "He can't think to confront it!" Kafei said, bewildered. "What can he do against the moon? He'll get killed," Kafei said. Sure, he was a skilled swordsman, but was nothing to the immense size of the celestial body. _What is he going to do, swing his sword at it?_

The rumbling pull of the moon almost caused them to fall over. He held his smaller form tightly to Anju's waist until the ground stopped moving. "He reunited us against all odds," Anju said, rubbing the back of her hand against Kafei's cheek. "We're all going to die anyway. Let him help. I wouldn't be surprised if he finds a way. After all, he led you back to me."

As they entered South Clock Town, the first thing they saw was Mutoh roaring at the moon, spittle flying from his mouth. He seemed to be the only one left in Clock Town other than them. But Kafei knew the carpenter well, knew all that bluster was to cover up fear. Mutoh's eyes were wide with panic, and his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse with the yelling of invective.

Link was winding his way up the path to the clock tower, sword still out. "I'm going to help him," Kafei said. "I could never forgive myself if I stood around and did nothing." He turned back to her and clasped his hands on her arms above her elbow. "There is still time for you to flee." He almost begged. Even if he died, it would be enough if she lived.

Anju shook her head. "No. I'm with you till the end of the world," she said firmly. There was no arguing with her when she was like this, and Kafei didn't want to. They dashed past Mutoh who looked at their entwined hands and Kafei's child form in amazement before hitting himself in the head with a fist and doing a double take.

They opened the trapdoor to the top of the tower just in time to see Link pull out a strange misshapen object. An ocarina. Small agile fingers darted over the holes in the instrument, and he began to play with unparalleled skill.

"This song," Kafei said in amazement. "The Ceremonial Song of the Carnival. How does he know it?"

The Tower shook, and Kafei knew they were dead as things began to shift and crumble. Instead of the moon beginning the final descent as he feared, the rumble was rhythmic.

"The Oath to Order," Anju said, bringing her hand to her mouth. "The melody of the Giants as Grandmother calls it. He can help. He _is_ helping! Kafei, don't you see!"

Kafei looked up and saw the legendary Giants converge on Clock Town, footsteps covering the breadth of leagues in an instant. "Gods," he breathed.

Link finished his song as the Giants came and caught the moon, stopping its imminent descent. He wiped the sweat from his brow and pocketed his instrument, and only then did he catch sight at the couple standing at the door behind him.

"You shouldn't have come," he rasped, the first words Kafei had ever heard him speak. Kafei had half feared he was mute. "It's not safe."

The golden fairy above the boy scoffed. "Idiots will be idiots, Link. Now let's get that mask so we can get Tael and get outta here."

He reached over to take it off its face, but before he could, the demon imp with the grotesque mask screamed, and a beam of ill-colored light shot forth and enveloped the moon, pulling it farther down. Even the Giants struggled with the weight of the power it added.

A deep, dark laugh and the imp's body rose into the air, limbs hanging limp. " **Just a puppet, and so easily controlled. When a puppet can no longer be used, it's just garbage.** " And like a puppet with cut strings, the imp fell from the sky and landed hard on the clock face. " **This puppet's role has now ended.** "

The Mask rose into the air, enveloping the moon with its power again and pulling it down. One of the Giant's knees buckled, but He still held gamely on.

And then the moon spoke, a deep dual-layered voice in a dead tone. " _ **I…I shall…consume. Consume everything**_ …"

The wind whipped Kafei's hair as he slid forward on the rough painted surface of the clock face. It pulled the imp too, and only Anju's grip on the trapdoor kept them from being drawn in.

Link yelled with shield and sword drawn, running into the beam threatening to suck all of Clock Town inside. It enveloped him and the Mask, and all was silent as the strong wind died down. Nothing but the shifts of the Giants' feet as they struggled to bear the weight.

"Kafei, are you all right?" Anju said, checking him over and patting him down.

"I'm fine," he said tersely in the early twilight. "You?"

She nodded. She glanced up at the monstrous moon, before looking away, shuddering. "It ate him." Her eyes caught on the imp. He lay crumpled in a ball a short distance away, limbs bent unnaturally. "I should check on him," Anju said.

"After everything he's done?" Kafei said. "Even turning me into a child?"

Anju just looked at him with her wide, blue eyes. "Compassion isn't a sin," she said, and stood to go to him.

But it was a bit of a moot point, as the dark purple fairy that had stayed by the imp's side began tugging on his clothes. "Skullkid, you have to wake up!" He kept at it, until finally the prone figure groaned and moved before falling still again.

He buzzed angrily at Anju as she got closer, dive-bombing her as she took another step. "Stay away!" She stayed back, hands clasped tightly to her skirt, before walking back to Kafei.

The sun crested over the horizon, and still the moon hung low, cradled in the hands of the Four Guardian Spirits. The early dawn cast down light on the battered clock face. It was a dawn Kafei had been sure he wouldn't see, and he was grateful for even this stolen bit of time. He gazed up at his lovely wife's pained face. He ran his fingers through her hair in an attempt to comfort her. She smiled gamely up at him, but her lip was trembling. His brave wife. Sure, they weren't married, not really, but it didn't matter; they had chosen to spend the rest of their lives together even if it was just a scant few hours.

Just then, the moon gave a shudder, cracks spanning its surface. They held on to each other, sure that this was it. But it merely crumbled into dust as the Giants pushed it out of the atmosphere, dissolving into nothing.

A tall figure hurtled down at astonishing speed, his head hitting the ground with the sound of breaking wood. He was eight feet tall or better, with a shock of white hair, exotic markings on his face and a breastplate emblazoned with celestial bodies. His blade, hollow with a twisted double helix shape, slipped from his hands and hit the ground.

Blood drained from Kafei's face. His prone form was a source of many nightmares, and Kafei didn't relish facing him. He had no exceptional martial skill. He narrowed his eyes. He would for Anju.

But the demon was already dissolving, growing smaller, changing shape and color as his hair yellowed, his armor turned green. A mask painted like a sick pantomime of the demon clattered to the ground, as the figure turned his head, and when the magic cleared, Anju gasped. It was Link.

"What happened?" Anju asked. Kafei didn't know what to say. _That mask...why does he have it?_ he wondered. _It…transformed him._

Blood poured from a wound on the side of Link's head, staining his golden hair, and he groaned, attempting to sit up. "Don't even try, idiot." The golden fairy said, pushing him back down.

"Tatl?" A small voice said, hesitant.

"Tael!" she shouted back, and gold and purple mixed as they flew together in an embrace.

Link groaned again, and Anju rushed to his side, ripping the hem of her skirt and using the fabric to mop the blood away. "It's better than it looks," she said. Link rose; she made to catch him, but he held up a hand towards her, stopping her, and shuffled his way towards the imp. Link shook his side, and the creature leapt up with a yelp, holding up his hands and shaking them as he shivered and shook his head. He disappeared.

Link started swaying, holding a palm to his forehead. "Shh, it's all right. I've got you," Anju said in a low tone, reaching out her arms to guide him. He took a wobbling step, like a toddler. Link took another step and tripped over something in his way, so Kafei came to his other side to help them. Link had stumbled over the demonic mask, laying right next to the mask the imp had worn, the one that had turned him into a child.

Link knelt down, picked up the demon mask, and placed it in his bag, hesitating before picking up the brightly swirled mask and doing the same. He stood stiffly, and took a deep breath, shrugging Kafei and Anju off.

"Are you sure?" Kafei said. The masks made him uneasy. Link's eyes drew his own, and the weight of that piercing gaze struck Kafei _,_ almost making him want to look away. _He has old eyes._ They carried experience belied by his young face. Link hesitated for only a short moment before giving a nod and standing straighter, walking on his own but with a heavy limp, listing to the side, the two fairies following him. He opened the trapdoor himself, slowly, but under his own power.

Kafei stared at the point he disappeared at for a long time, lost in thought. Anju came up behind him, holding him tightly in her arms. He returned her embrace, wrapping his arms around her own and holding her hands in his. _Just who is he, anyway?_ Kafei thought. _And why would someone so young risk so much to save people he didn't even know?_

* * *

Link sagged against the steps at the Clock Tower door, every breath like running a gauntlet. The bright, happy moon shone above the land, providing a soothing light to the weary hero. Rockets shot into the air, salvo after salvo exploding into colored lights, stretching out long bright fingers to grasp the stars. As beautiful as the night was, he longed for it to be over. He'd done his duty once again.

His left arm felt heavier than granite, like it wasn't even a part of him anymore. Even with the help of the Fierce Deity's mask, the final battle with the evil spirit within Majora's mask had been a struggle. He missed the power of adulthood; the strength and power of his limbs, his reach _—Gods_! Not for the first time, he regretted. His younger body had not the advantages that his grown body did, and the lack of strength and ability to use magic effectively had worn on his endurance. It took all of his willpower to stay awake at this point. He fiddled with the empty bottle of Chateau Romani. Madame Aroma's gift had been a godsend. He only wished he'd been able to help both her and the Postman. Goddesses knew he'd tried, but he couldn't help everyone in the end. Pick and choose and cut the losses minimal.

He did what he had set out to do, for the most part. He destroyed the threat, vanquished the evil spirit contained within that mask, and saved Termina.

 _But…_ He looked up at the moon. _Navi_ … There could be no rest for him, not yet, not even after saving two worlds. Not until he found her. _I'll give myself_ o _ne night. That's all I ask._ Link would start again tomorrow. _One small moment of peace._

He cast his mind back to that moment on the cold mountain. The words of the owl, Kaepora Gaebora, ran through his mind incessantly. " _Well, it seems you may have the strength to change the fate of this land as I had expected. But the road ahead is even more challenging. Many trials await you."_ Something about the conversation chilled him. Was Termina meant to fall forever into darkness? Was it fate that led Majora here? Him here? Was it fate that led the moon to fall? Had he only prolonged the inevitable?

Hardship was his fate. The owl had said that too upon their first meeting outside Kokiri Forest.

Link sighed. He was so tired. Tired of playing to expectations, tired of being the hero. Sacrifice after sacrifice and for what?

For what he had done to be undone? Princess Zelda had erased the memories of everyone else he'd known when she turned back time. He did it himself, each three-day cycle. As if it never happened.

For everyone to leave? Tatl only needed him to find Tael. Navi had left once they'd saved Hyrule. Even Saria. He glanced down at his hands, clenched into fists on the bottom of his tunic. He understood that a little. He was no true Kokiri. Saria had obligations, and only the Kokiri had fairy partners. But he wasn't Hylian either, not really, not after being raised in the forest.

 _So what am I?_ He shook his head. This really wasn't the time.

He shifted uneasily; Clock Town was filling up with the return of all the ones who'd fled. He had wanted to make his escape before then, but the crowds were growing thick. He'd never seen Clock Town so full of people!

People laughed and danced with wild abandon. Sheer relief that they were alive. Masks were everywhere. Even Link himself had gotten into the spirit with the Bunny Hood, carefully placed around his healing head wound. The loud noise and the constant movement made him anxious, and he was constantly scanning the large crowd for threats.

The Happy Mask Salesman and Skullkid with Tatl and Tael had already left to parts unknown, but he still had obligations to fulfill before he could leave.

All he had left were his promises. After that, he could go home. Link took a deep breath. He laid several souls to rest. He helped everyone in his Bomber's notebook. He remembered the three days by heart. Go here, do this, be here by this time. He'd returned Majora's mask. Tatl had reunited with Tael. There were these things to do.

First, he had the Indigo-go's performance at the Time Carnival. He couldn't leave them without playing. His fingers mimed the chords as he strummed the air, and Link grinned, bobbing his head along to the imaginary music, ignoring the way the world swam when he did. He loved that fishbone guitar. A small pleasure in the heart of everything. He was actually looking forward to it.

He paused, though, and sat straight up as a thought occurred to him. He needed to inform Lulu that Mikau was dead. _I don't want to, but..._ Ruto, Lulu's counterpart, loved him, once. Lulu's face was so evocative of the Zora he once knew, and that was the one thing that gave him pause. He recalled the Chamber of Sages, the absolute heartbreak on her face as she sacrificed her love for duty. It would hurt her, devastate her; he didn't relish seeing that face again. _How would it feel,_ he wondered, _to see your dead friend walking around, only to realize it was someone else?_ He shuddered, overcome by a sudden chill in the cool night. He set his jaw. He'd do it. After the performance.

He wondered if he should do the same thing for the Gorons for Darmani. It would break the little one's heart, but he didn't have a choice. Maybe he could spout a line about leaving on a long journey. Link hated to hurt their feelings; he didn't want to lie, but he wanted to give them some form of closure. It just wasn't right. The never-knowing was the worst part. Link knew that very well.

He also had his suspicions about the twisted stump of a tree before the entrance to the clock tower. He needed to take his thoughts to the Deku King's Butler, so he could get some form of closure as well.

Maybe after that, he could go home to Hyrule. For now, he could stay at the Stock Pot Inn, in the room he had taken from the Goron until the Carnival was over. He needed sleep, first and foremost. Cyclic days of staying awake had left him exhausted. The All-night mask helped only a little. Occasionally, he even took trips back in time to do nothing but sleep. So, so, so very tired.

But sleep would not come to him here, not in the bustle of the crowd. Link leaned his head back against the Tower door and closed his eyes, blocking the Carnival out as much as he could.

* * *

"And you don't remember seeing him before then?" Kafei pressed.

Jim crossed his arms, shaking his head. His little orange forelock bounced as he did. "Nope. Sorry, Boss. He just figured out the secret code, and well, me 'n the other Bombers thought that if he could do that, then he'd be pretty good at being a Bomber, you know? First time Prof. Shikashi had seen him either."

"Yeah. It was a good decision. He's done a lot to help the town. Thanks, Jim. You've been a lot of help."

"No problem, Boss. Bombers' Secret Society of Justice, forever!" He said.

"Bombers' Secret Society of Justice, forever," Kafei parroted, smiling. The little boy ran off, presumably to go play with his other friends.

 _Well, that didn't work_ , Kafei thought. He interlaced his fingers and popped them before stretching his arms in the air and then placing them behind his head. No one knew anything about him, other than the fact they first remembered seeing him three days ago, playing with the Bombers. He tried to follow up on that bit of information, but it led nowhere.

No two ways about it. Link was a proper mystery. No ordinary child could have fought the imp and survived. The boy had managed to save Clock Town, no, all of Termina, in under three days, yet still managed to play with other children.

The fact he was a fairy child was in itself a wonder. Everyone knew of the Great Fairies, those deities of magic that protected every region. He'd gone to her himself when he'd been turned into a child. It was how his mask had been stolen. Fewer knew of the smaller fairies. Those legends spoke that the granting of a small token or gift would allow for miraculous recovery from death. The esoteric legends of the fairy children almost no one knew. Kafei himself wouldn't know, if not for Anju's grandmother. Though her age had left her almost blind, her mind was still as sharp as a knife telling the old stories, whether you wanted to listen to them or not. He laughed to himself. Good for insomnia, though he'd still managed to pick up bits and pieces.

Odd, but then everything about the boy was odd. And the other Terminians still treated as if he was just a child. Link had put his life on the line for Termina, yet he and Anju were the only ones capable of seeing all that he had done. Why could no one else see? The boy no one knew had sacrificed himself for all of Termina, helping as many people as he could along the way. A small slip of a boy, who by all rights didn't even exist!

"Oh, Kafei!" Before he could blink, a massive set of arms engulfed him in a hug.

He blinked. "Mama?" he said as he tried to pull away.

"Kafei! So it was true! Everything you wrote in your letter! Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you come to me?" Madame Aroma said, her hands on his arms. Her glittering orange dress matched a dragon-like winged mask on a stick. She'd tucked it loosely in her sash. "We could have helped you!"

He tried shrugging her off. "It was something I needed to do on my own."

"You look just like you did as a boy," she said, leaning back just enough to stare at him pointedly.

"Maybe so," Kafei said, "but I'm still a man. I can take care of myself."

She shot him a sad look, her pudgy face drooping. "I know that, dear. Now tell me how poor Anju is doing. Mutoh said he saw her with you racing up the Clock Tower, so I know you talked with her before your dear old mother. I saw her four days ago and she just looked so distraught, the poor thing. You better have a good reason for doing what you did, young man." She wiggled a finger at him. "Running off on her! We raised you better."

So Kafei explained his perspective of the last three days to her. "...and so we decided to get married on the day of the Carnival instead. We've already exchanged masks, so it's just a formality, but..."

She held her mask to her lips when he was done. "But a beautiful wedding overlooking the sea is what she's always wanted," Aroma said, sighing. "Oh my! That's quite a tale." She tapped her chin with the mask. "So he wasn't the expert person finder I hired after all."

"Wait. _You_ hired him to find me?" Kafei said, gaping at her. She started the chain of events! _Her_? Well. He was glad she did. His mother was normally not this overbearing, but his heart swelled at the thought of much she had done for him. Mothers were truly a blessing of the gods.

"Well, not him, but you have to admit, he did get results," Madame Aroma said as they walked, idly perusing the vendor stalls which had sprung up in an amazing amount of time, grabbing a gaudy topaz necklace that matched her dress, smiling in pleasure before handing a large rupee over to the delighted merchant.

"I'll say," Kafei said, deep in thought, glancing up at the clock tower. "Oh, speaking of, there he is."

She looked over his head. "Where?" Kafei pointed to the clock tower door, where a little green form with bunny ears rested his head against the painted wood.

 _Maybe I can get answers straight from the source._ "I'll talk with you later, Mama," Kafei said, intent on making it to him before he could slip away in the crowd. It wasn't the first time he'd caught sight of him, but it was the first time he had an opportunity to do something about it.

She bit her lip. "And now you're leaving?" she said, her voice wavering. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Kafei rolled his eyes but gave her a tight hug. "I'm fine," he smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'll be back. Believe me. I'm not going to leave everyone again." She waved him off, her lower lip trembling.

With that thought in mind, he finally strode up to the hero. Link seemed to sense his approach and cracked one eye open, slowly sitting forward. A dark frown crossed Link's face as he took in all of Kafei's form. The rounded cheeks, the childlike proportions.

To Kafei's surprise, he spoke again. Link had a quiet voice, a healthy tenor. "You didn't grow."

"No," Kafei said quietly.

"...I thought with the spirit of that mask gone," Link trailed off. "I thought maybe it took time."

Kafei slung his arms forth, clapping his hands together. "Well, it appears permanent. Things are not always as we'd like them to be. Seven years are gone, just like that. It's a long time to lose."

"It _is_."

That was a strange statement. Though it was not long in length, the intonation and lilt of his voice spoke volumes more than Link intended. Kafei actually felt the wistfulness, the utter sincerity of that statement. It was as if he actually understood what Kafei was going through, the return to his younger form.

How curious.

A long silence hung between them, made even more poignant by the noise of the crowd. "I wanted to thank you, you know," Kafei said.

The boy tilted his head. "For what?"

Kafei stared at him, agog. "For all of it," Link honestly didn't know what he meant? How could someone like this be real? "For saving us. For reuniting Anju and me. For helping my mother. A dozen other things you've done all through town."

"You know about all that?" Kafei nodded. "Oh." Link looked down at his boots. "It was nothing," he said.

Kafei shook his head, long purple hair whipping at the vehemence of it. "No, you don't understand. For us, it was _everything_."

Link's eyes shot up, and they met Kafei's square. Kafei nearly took a step back at the intensity showing in those blue eyes. "You mean it?" Link said in a voice just as fierce as his eyes.

"Yeah," Kafei said, holding Link's gaze, even though he didn't want to. He had to make him believe it, and looking away wouldn't help matters. _Just what had happened to this kid?_ "I do."

"Oh," he said. Kafei did wind up looking away first, but when he glanced back at Link, Link's gaze was back to his boots. Another long bit of silence.

"Hey, Link," Kafei said. "On behalf of Anju and I," he paused, losing the words in the enormity of what Link had done. _Hmph_. Kafei would not let a child intimidate him, even if they looked to be the same age, so he forced himself to continue, "We would...well, we'd like to invite you to our wedding."

Link tilted his head, one bunny ear drooping, the very picture of innocence. Just where had all the weight behind Link's eyes gone? Had Kafei been imagining things? Link's voice, when he spoke, had an edge of teasing in it. "But aren't you already married?"

Kafei responded in kind, grinning. "In a sense. But miss out on the opportunity for Anju to wear her dress? I think not!"

"You actually want me there?" Link said quietly.

"Yeah, I do. Standing right next to me. I wouldn't ask if I didn't." Struck with a sudden idea, Kafei held out his hand. "This is your first Carnival, right?" Link nodded. "So c'mon. No sense in just sitting there, wasting away the night all alone. There's bound to be something we can do for fun, right?"

Link stared at Kafei's outstretched hand for a long moment. Then slowly, he reached up and grasped his hand, and Kafei pulled him to his feet.

"Yeah," Link said. "I'd like that."


End file.
